Defenders of Earth
by ZuttoAragi
Summary: The Power Rangers, fresh off their defeat of Rita, are swiftly and unexpectedly drawn into a new, and far crazier, race against time to stop the world from dying to evil aliens. Are they just made of bad luck?


**Chapter I**

 **Hey all! I have come back with another in my series of rebooted stories. This time I am rebooting Guardians of Earth, with a new title and new main characters. But even then, because it is the only live action based story I am doing I consider it a reboot. The basic story will be somewhat the same, though. Anyway, this time, it is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Transformers, and the recent Power Rangers movie. Say what you will about it, I enjoyed it personally, which is why I am making it the story. Anyway! As a bit of a set up, the story begins after the conclusion of the Power Rangers movie but picks up before any of the rest. That aside, be sure to let me know what you think of this story after you read this chapter. So with that in mind, on with the show!**

* * *

The Power Rangers. Jason Scott, Kimberly Hart, Trini Kwan, Billy Cranston, and Zack Taylor. Several weeks have passed since they unlocked their power to use the Megazord and defeated Rita and her monster, Goldar. Angel Grove has remained peaceful in the time after; unfortunately for them that does not always last.

Jason sat in detention with the other Rangers and regular humans, none of whom knew about the five's powers.

As the teacher droned on listlessly, Billy took notice of a smirk that had remained on Jason's face since the day began and finally decided to ask him about it.

"Um, hey, Jason," the teen asked timidly.

Jason did not respond at first, his thoughts preoccupied, before realizing he had been spoken to. "H – Huh? Yeah? What's up, Billy?"

"That's my line. You've been smiling like that since we got here."

"You haven't gone twisted and actually enjoy this freak show, have you?" Zack asked with his usual sarcastic tone.

"Like you're one to talk," Jason retorted. "No, I found a car on the side of the road a few weeks back and I've almost got it fully repaired."

"Whoa, seriously?" Billy asked with astonishment.

Trini leant in and added, "We can leap over buildings and you need a car?"

"Hey, it gets tiring sometimes," Jason rebutted. "Besides, it's a sweet ride."

"And what's that? Another creeper van?" Kimberly jabbed.

"No," he huffed with a slightly irritated smirk. "A bright red Camaro with black stripes."

Billy gulped with trepidation. "N – Need some help finishing it up…?"

Jason raised an eyebrow and then shrugged with a smirk before chucking a paper wad at the wall with immense force. "Sure, why not."

"Yes!" he cheered quietly.

"Alright people, quiet down," the teacher called out in annoyance.

* * *

"So how's that ankle bracelet going?" Billy asked as he and Jason walked down the sidewalk.

"Seems your little workaround is still functioning. I can go pretty much anywhere at any time and the thing thinks I'm at home," Jason answered, glancing down at the electronic device wrapped around his leg. "I'm just worried the feds will catch on."

"Ah, don't worry, unless the signal goes off they don't pay any attention."

"Let's hope so."

* * *

Shortly, the duo made their way to a garage on the edge of town.

Jason pulled the sheet off and showed the car in question.

"Whoa…" Billy gasped in awe.

"Yeah. She's a beauty."

"So… what's not done yet?"

"The fuel lines were full of holes when I found it on the side of the road. They almost looked burned. But I just need to put some new ones on and get them primed and it should be good to go."

"Wh – What can I do?"

Jason handed his friend a tool with a spinning gauge on it. "Hold this. When the needle gets to this point let me know."

"Um… right…"

* * *

Nearby, a man with receding hair wearing a plain black suit stood next to a woman with red hair.

"Target has taken the bait," the man said into his wrist.

"So when do we make our move?" the woman asked.

"Not just yet, Romanoff. Hopefully, Simmons does his job and we don't have to."

"You do realize you're putting your faith in an organization that hates us, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But whenever he screws up it's usually pretty funny."

"You say so, Boss."

* * *

Jason's father looked at him in disbelief before looking over Jason's shoulder at the red car behind him. "So that's what you were spending all of your free time on?"

"Yeah. It's an investment."

"I hope you know what it's going to take to keep that old thing running." The heavily bearded man then looked at his watch. "You were just barely on time for curfew, so I'll let it go. I assume you'll take care of it yourself?"

Jason's shoulders began to slump as his father's lecture continued. "Well I'm not going to rely on you for it."

Sam turned to Jason as he rushed past him. "Jason! Jason! That's not what I meant and you know it." He sighed in exasperation.

As Jason walked into the house, he saw his sister Pearl looking at a small, clear, scratched and cracked disk. "Hey!" he shouted as he rushed over and grabbed it from her hands.

"Hey!" she shouted back in annoyed surprise.

"Where'd you get this?"

"What's it matter?"

"You went into my room again, didn't you?"

"Yeah? So?"

"It's fragile, you could break it, that's what."

"Why do you care so much about that thing anyway? Isn't it just some piece of junk you found in that crappy car?"

Sam sighed as he walked up to the two. "Alright Pearl, you don't have to be so rude. That's something of Jason's, so you shouldn't go into his room without permission." He then directed his gaze at Jason who turned to leave. "As for you, you need to stop being quite so possessive about stuff like this."

"Oh come on, Dad, it took me almost a month just to earn enough money to fix that car, you know we can't live off just what you get paid anymore. What about college?"

"You and I both know that's not happening. Not after that stunt you pulled with the cow."

"Still bringing that up, huh?" Jason growled.

"Of course I am! That joke of yours basically shot your entire career in the foot!"

Jason narrowed his eyes before walking off.

Sam sighed in frustration before sending an angered look at Pearl.

* * *

In his house, in the basement full of machines and half-finished projects, Billy clacked away on his computer, his mind obsessed with the image he saw on Jason's car. He decided he had to figure out what it was. The sun had fallen and the stars had risen and yet he was no closer to an answer. That is, until he noticed a faded newspaper clipping within a report.

* * *

The next day at school, Billy ran straight up to Jason as the day began.

"Whoa, Billy, where's the fire?" Jason asked in surprise.

"What? There's a fire?" Billy asked in concern.

Jason sighed with a laugh. "No, Billy, it's a joke. What're you so worked up about?"

"This, you gotta see it." Billy unfolded a torn piece of paper and showed him the newspaper clipping on it, showing the image of a car accident.

Jason remained silent for a moment, waiting. "Okay? And? It's an accident from the eighties."

"No, look at this." He pointed to one of the cars involved the crash, which had an emblem like Jason's Camaro on it, though far more angular and pointed.

"Whoa… that's kinda weird. Any idea what it's from?"

"No. But this isn't the only one." Billy then showed Jason a series of photos, a semi-truck, a jetliner, a delivery van, and more that each had one symbol or another on them. "These date all the way back to the early eighties. Earliest one I saw was nineteen eighty-four."

"So… what? I know it's weird, but did you really get so worked up over that?"

"… Yeah. You aren't?"

* * *

A tall, beige, broad-chested machine grabbed a dark blue machine with rotors on his back and threw him against a wall.

"You failed, Blackout!" the brown robot growled with a shrill voice.

Blackout stood with a growl. "I was not anticipating the Autobots arriving, Commander Starscream," he groaned as his left arm dripped a candescent blue fluid.

"I sent you and Thundercracker with one mission! Get those warheads _and_ the command programs! Why did Thundercracker succeed and you didn't?" Starscream snarled.

"To my knowledge, he wasn't attacked by Autobots. And Scorponok was stopped from terminating the stragglers by an unidentified force."

"That unidentified force was something you were warned about, Blackout," a man with a deep Scottish accent, accompanied by a man with a heavy rebreather, noted.

Starscream rolled his optics in exasperation. "McCullen. I thought you were warned about boarding the Nemesis without prior alert."

As McCullen walked forward, a one-eyed mechanical feline growled at him. "I assure you I'm not here for nefarious reasons, Starscream. I'm actually here to offer you a gift. I just got done with a call to the G.I. Joes. I know where their base is located. I also have some reliable information on a lead to that… Allspark you keep going on about."

Starscream's vision narrowed suspiciously as he pushed Blackout away. "Go on…"

* * *

Jason, Billy, Zack, Kimberly, and Trini all sat in Jason's car as he sped along dirt roads towards a large, abandoned gold mine, a location familiar to them all.

"Okay… so we came to the base for what?" Kimberly asked as she sat in the seat next to Jason.

Jason smirked and answered confidently, "It's the biggest place where we can cut loose. Zordon said he's managed to keep this place clear of security so we can come and go as we want."

"That's… convenient."

Jason smirked and put the car in drive. "Yup."

* * *

A short robot with two, large, bulb-like eyes watched the red car speed around wildly from above. "Aye, aye, aye… they really don't take these things into consideration…"

A portion of the rocks nearby shifted into a face. "As long as they're not causing too much trouble I will allow it, Alpha-Five."

Alpha-Five tilted his disc-shaped head and then looked at the face in the ground. "You sure that's okay, Master Zordon? I mean… recklessness aside, what they're doing could attract the attention of other Earthlings."

"I'm aware. For the time being we cannot do much about it. Leave them be." With that the face disappeared.

Alpha-Five tilted his head curiously before sighing heavily.

* * *

The car drifted to a stop, kicking up a storm of dust.

"Woo! That was awesome!" Zack cheered as he leapt from the car. "Okay, I'll hand it to you, even compared to jumping over houses that's pretty badass!"

"What'd I tell you?" Jason retorted with a whoop of excitement.

Billy stepped out of the car and stumbled, his eyes tumbling in his head. "H – Hey guys… I don't feel so good…"

Trini looked at Billy in confusion before turning to Jason. "You sure he's okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine," Jason answered dismissively before leaping up over a crevice to a hill on the opposite side. "Hey, Zack! Get up here!"

Zack looked at the others and shrugged before jumping up to join the other man. "You got a plan in mind?"

"Yup," Jason replied with a smirk which instantly vanished as he saw a series of flashing lights approaching from the distance. "Oh shit. Okay, abort! We got cops coming!"

"Hold on, I thought Zordon was supposed to keep them away?" Kimberly asked as Jason and Zack jumped back down.

"Supposed to. Doesn't mean it'll be perfect. I'm _really_ not interested in getting another strike on my record. So let's beat it before they get up here."

"Agreed," Billy added before the five jumped into the car and Jason hit the gas, speeding off.

Jason veered around trees and over hairpin turns as he attempted to get himself and the others away from the gold mine before the police officers spotted him. However, his plan came to an unexpected and abrupt end when the very same black police car Jason had seen approaching from the distance emerged from the trees nearby and cut them off.

"The hell!?" Jason exclaimed as he hit the brakes and turned the wheel.

"Okay, how'd he get here so fast!?" Trini shouted.

"I don't know but he knows we're here, so getting out of here right now is a good idea." Jason immediately put the car into a higher gear and hit the gas, the car speeding off away from the patrol car, though it was directly behind them.

"Someone wanna tell me how he's keeping up with us?!" Zack howled.

"Probably because this thing's a piece of crap," Kimberly remarked sarcastically.

Suddenly, the Camaro veered to the right and down the embankment of a hill, just barely remaining level as it sped down the side.

The police car stopped just shy of the edge and sat still before pursing them.

* * *

The Camaro came to a road and roughly bounced onto it before speeding away.

"Are you insane!?" Kimberly screamed at Jason.

Jason, his eyes wide as he fought with the steering wheel, retorted, "It's not me! The car's moving on its own!"

"This is _not_ the time for jokes!" Billy argued.

Jason let go of the wheel as the car, true to his word, steered itself around traffic.

"… Nevermind then."

"Uh, guys, he's comin'," Zack warned as the police car raced after them.

"Well, all we can do is hope the car knows what he's doing," Jason replied, too shocked to be loud.

The Camaro jerked to the side, heading towards an old factory.

Billy looked back at the vehicle and noticed the pointed emblem on its sides. "Hey, uh, Jason… you know how your car has that weird symbol on it?"

"Is this _really_ the time for that Billy?!" Jason growled.

"No, no, I mean, you remember the pointy one? That cop car has that one."

"… Oh you have got to be kidding me."

Suddenly, the black cruiser veered to the side, drove up a toppled roof like a ramp, and jumped the edge, cornering the group.

"Well… this sucks."

"This can't get any worse, right?" Zack questioned.

As if to reply to him, the black cruiser began to change, panels and pieces moving as it turned from a police cruiser to a four-and-a-half-meter tall humanoid robot.

"You just had to ask," Jason deadpanned.

The black machine opened its hand, which shifted and formed into a Neutron Assault Rifle. "Step out, now! Fleshling!"

"Ideas?"

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Kimberly noted.

The five slowly stepped out of the red car with their hands up.

The black robot growled in frustration. "A, Barricade, nacc kubo kxo muf!"

"Uh… what is it saying?" Billy questioned.

"Sorry, I don't speak robot," Trini retorted flatly.

However, as soon as Barricade took a step forward the red Camaro did the same as it, standing up into a similarly tall robot and punched Barricade in the abdomen before throwing him at a wall.

"… Do we run?"

The red machine turned to them and raised his hands slowly. "Well don't just stand there! Get going!"

"… Seriously?"

"Yes. I know you can run almost as fast as I can drive, so go!"

Jason tapped Zack and Kimberly on the shoulder as he turned. "There's no way in hell we can fight like this anyway. So let's go."

The others nodded in agreement and the five fled as Barricade walked up to the red machine.

Barricade wiped a small stream of blue liquid from his chin. "You're as stubborn as always, Gears."

Gears narrowed his optics, armed his Scatter Blaster, and lowered his face shield. He then rushed forward and tackled Barricade, and threw him at a small shed.

Barricade readied a Neutron Assault Rifle and charged at the Autobot, firing.

Gears rolled to the side and fired his Scatter Blaster.

Barricade threw up a roof to deflect the shots before leaping at Gears.

The red Autobot kicked up at the descending Decepticon, planting his foot in the robot's abdomen.

Barricade buckled like a deck chair from the blow before Gears swung his leg to the side, tossing the Decepticon like a piece of garbage.

* * *

The five teens continued sprinting from the area before stopping momentarily.

"Okay… what the hell was that!?" Kimberly shouted.

"Giant transforming alien robots?" Zack noted.

"We need someone who can sort this all out…" Trini groaned.

Suddenly the five all turned to each other. "Zordon."

* * *

Gears fired a shot square at Barricade's torso, sending him flying through a shed.

Barricade snarled as he stood up before noticing a fuel tank next to him. Grinning maliciously, he ripped it out of the ground. "Hey Autobot!" He swiftly threw the fuel tank at the 'Bot, taking the chance and shooting the tank as it reached Gears.

* * *

Jason and the rest turned back towards the factory area when they heard a loud explosion and saw a plume of fire rising into the night sky.

"We need to get there. Now."

The five pulled out all the breaks and ran at full speed, leaving small craters with each pound of their feet.

Billy turned back in horror as they ran and saw Barricade, back in his vehicle mode, racing towards the group. "How'd he get here so fast!?"

"Don't worry about that, just run!" Jason shouted before stopping and throwing a boulder at the pursuing Decepticon.

Barricade swiftly transformed and smacked the flying rock out of his way, only for a yellow robot similar to Gears except with sleeker edges and spiked wheels on his shoulders to emerge from the nearby tree line, holding an uprooted tree like a giant bat, and then ram Barricade with it, causing him to tumble down the nearby hill with the tree.

He raced up beside the teens and transformed into his vehicle mode, a sleek, much more modern Camaro. "The name's Bumblebee. I'm with Gears, get in."

"Hold on," Jason argued. "We need to get back to the gold mine. There's someone there we need to talk to and something we need to get."

Bumblebee remained pensively silent for a moment. "Alright. I'll get you there. But if things get messy we're leaving."

"Agreed."

Jason and the rest hurriedly jumped into the vehicle before Bumblebee sped off.

* * *

Gears groaned as he stood up. "Primus he's annoying…"

* * *

Bumblebee raced through the winding back roads on the edge of Angel Grove towards the gold mine when Barricade, battered and beaten, leapt down from a cliff nearby.

"Oh come on!" Jason growled as the Decepticon landed.

Barricade prepared to charge forward, but suddenly huge, fluctuating, blue cloud of energy formed nearby. "… Oh scrap."

A blue, red, and silver, nine-meter-tall robot stepped out of the portal armed with a glowing red Energon Axe and an Ion Blaster.

"It's Optimus Prime! I do not have the ammo for this," Barricade grumbled as his knees literally shook.

Optimus narrowed his optics dangerously as he looked at the Decepticon. "If you leave now, I will let you continue to function."

Barricade attempted to argue but looked at his available options and decided to transform and flee.

Optimus sighed as his weapons receded. He turned as Bumblebee and the Rangers approached him. "These are the humans in question?"

Bumblebee nodded as he motioned to Jason and the others. "Yes. They are the ones who piloted that machine."

Jason looked at the two in confusion. "Machine?"

"I think he means the Megazord," Billy added shakily.

"Oh… yeah." Jason sighed in exasperation and then looked up at Optimus prime, the tall robot kneeling down in front of the Rangers. "So… what's the deal?"

"We need your help, Jason Lee Scott," Optimus explained.

Kimberly gaped and then looked at Jason in surprise. "He knows your name…"

"Yeah…" Jason gasped quietly. "Wait… my help? Why? How?"

Optimus nodded in understand and proceeded to explain. "Our ally, Gears, was recovered by you, repaired by your handiwork. However, there was an item in his possession when you found him."

"What item?"

"An information disk containing what we believe to be map data."

"Disk…? Oh…"

"You know what he's talking about?" Asked Trini.

"Yeah. I found this weird glass disk in that car. I just assumed it was junk so it's just in my room."

"We need that disk before the Decepticons find it," Optimus urged.

"Decepticons? That sounds nasty."

"Very," Gears commented as he approached the group.

"Whoa, you're alive?!" Billy shouted in surprise.

Gears frowned with offense. "Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Uh… sorry…"

Jason redirected, "Okay, so what are these Decepticons?"

Optimus explained. "They are Cybertronians, like us. However, they are led by Megatron, whose endless desire for power led many to follow his tyranny."

"And what's he want with Earth? Is it… the Zeo Crystal?"

Optimus frowned in confusion. "No. It is something far more powerful. The Allspark."

"Sounds powerful."

"Whilst the Zeo Crystal can fill planets with life, the Allspark can do that and can also create planets to put life on."

"… Okay, I can see why that would be bad in the hands of a psycho robot. So that thing is here on Earth?"

"Yes. Originally, it was interred on Cybertron, but during the course of the war it was jettisoned into space, Megatron chasing after it. We believe he and the Allspark Cube crashed here on Earth, and that chip holds a map to its location."

Jason's face turned white. "And those Decepticons… they'd be willing to do anything to get it…?"

"Truly. Control of its powers is partly what led to the war in the first place, resulting in our planet becoming dead, and our race to begin slowly dying. And if Megatron gets his manipulators on it he will use its power to convert all of Earth's machinery into his own army to conquer the galaxy."

"That's bad…" Billy mumbled. "That's real bad…"

"Okay, the chip's at my house. If we get there I can grab it. But I have one question first."

"Name it," Optimus replied.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"Unfortunately, I have no way to guarantee that. I can only ask for you to do so."

Jason sighed in consideration. "Well… it wouldn't be the first time I trusted a strange alien robot."

"I assure you that your faith will not be misplaced."

"I do have one request."

"Oh?"

"Better car."

"That hurts," Gears grumbled.

"Um… sorry. You kinda… turned into a crap car."

"It does suck," Zack added.

"Well you don't need to be that blunt about it."

Optimus nodded in understanding. "We will discuss changes in your Guardian at a later time. For now, we need that data disc."

"Right. At my house," Jason insisted.

Billy, however, interjected. "W – Wait, shouldn't we, you know, go get the thing first."

"Thing?" Optimus asked, confused.

"It's… complicated," Jason answered.

"I see. Unfortunately time is short, we need the disc first."

Jason nodded in understanding. "We'll get it after we do this."

Optimus nodded before changing his shape, becoming a large semi-truck with blue and red flames.

"That's cool," Billy remarked before the five hopped into Optimus' cab.

* * *

Starscream growled as Barricade reported to him. "You failed!?"

"Optimus showed up!" Barricade pleaded. "There wasn't anything I could do!"

Starscream's optics narrowed curiously. "Optimus? In the alloy? Then they must know where the Allspark is. Or a clue to its whereabouts. Find them!"

* * *

As the group, the Rangers riding in Optimus with Bumblebee and Gears following, neared Jason's house, the teen became greatly distressed. "Oh shit. My dad's home. If he sees you guys we are so screwed."

"Then what do we do?" Optimus questioned, pulling to the side of the road.

"Wait here. I'll get it. Alone. If the rest of you come he'll get suspicious."

"Please hurry," Optimus urged as Jason hopped out and sprinted to his house.

As Jason sprinted toward his home, Sam saw him approach. "Jason? Jason! Where have you been!? It's past seven!"

Jason, breathless, answered, "Look, Dad, I know. But there's something going on, I need that disc, and I don't have time to explain."

"I don't care if you don't have time, make time!" he demanded as he grabbed Jason's shoulder.

Pushing his hand off, Jason rushed upstairs.

"Jason! If you got yourself in trouble again, I am _not_ busting you out of it!"

Soon, Jason's mother and Pearl walked up to Sam in confusion.

"Honey? What's going on?"

Pearl looked outside in confusion. "Daddy? Who are they?"

"Who?" Sam asked before looking outside as numerous black SUVs approached his house. "What the hell? Stay here. And don't let Jason leave."

* * *

Upstairs, Jason rooted through his room hurriedly before he found the opaque disc. "Yes! Now I just got to –!" he stopped suddenly when he saw a man in a suit step out of his vehicle and talk to Sam. "Shit…!"

Once he made it downstairs, Sam was already inside with the man.

The man pushed his way past Sam towards Jason. "Name's Agent Seymour Simmons. Are you Jason?"

Jason, tense, hid the disc in his pocket before nodding. "Y – Yeah… why?"

Sam motioned to Simmons, explaining, "These men are Agents from… where did you say?"

"I didn't," Simmons answered briskly. "But if you have to put a name to it, call it Sector Seven. Now, I am here because it is possible your son is involved with a national security matter."

Sam's face went white before he turned to Jason. "What did you do?"

"I didn't _do_ anything, Dad! There's just a lot of crazy shit going on!"

Simmons stepped forward holding a small device. "Now, I'm sure you're very confused, son, but I assure you, if you just comply with us, this will go much smoother."

"What do you want?"

"For you, and the rest of your family to come with us. It will be quick and painless."

Sam frowned and stepped between Simmons and Jason. "I agreed to let you come in and talk to my son. I didn't agree for you or your men to take any of us anywhere. I'm the sheriff of this town, so I'm asking nicely, explain what's going on here, or get out."

Simmons smiled smugly. "Sir, I too am asking nicely." He then motioned to a large, dark-skinned man standing next to one of the vehicles in full combat gear. "If you'd prefer, I can have Heavy Duty over there ask instead."

"Now you hold on, I won't – !"

"You will do what I say, willingly or not, Mister Scott."

Jason gently moved his father aside. "I'm the one you want. They don't have anything to do with this. They don't know anything."

"Oh?"

Sam was getting far angrier now. "Don't know anything? Anything about what!?"

"Dad, please. Just let me handle this." Turning his attention to Simmons, Jason added, "You leave them out of this, and I won't resist."

Simmons nodded with a smile and motioned to the door. "I'm a generous man, so I'll take your offer. This way please."

* * *

Kimberly and the others watched from inside Optimus' cab as Jason got into the SUV. "They're taking him? Where are they taking him!?"

"I do not know, but we cannot let them," Optimus urged.

Almost on cue, a large, black pickup truck screamed around the corner and came barreling towards the group of SUVs, slamming through them.

* * *

"Jason!" the truck answered before opening its door. "I'm with Optimus!"

Jason gulped and then punched Simmons, sending him flying, before leaping to the black truck as it passed.

Another agent helped Simmons to his feet as the truck joined Optimus and the others. Spitting a small fleck of blood, the man ordered loudly, "Follow them!"

* * *

"Okay, you got a name?" Jason asked as he sat in the pickup.

"Name's Ironhide," he answered before opening his door as he drove next to Optimus, Jason leaping from one vehicle to the next.

"And you call me crazy!?" Zack shouted as the group of vehicles drove swiftly.

Jason got to the steering wheel desperately. "Optimus! The quarry! We need to get to the quarry!"

"Do you have the disc?" Optimus asked firmly.

Taking it out of his pocket, Jason nodded.

"Very well. To the gold quarry." Turning a sharp corner, Optimus separated from the other three, Simmons' group of vehicles choosing to follow Bumblebee and the rest.

* * *

"Well that could've gone better," Heavy Duty remarked as he sat in the SUV's third row seat.

"Really?" Simmons snapped as he wiped blood from his lip. "Well, that kid's definitely got something crazy going on with him. I don't think even you hit that hard."

Heavy Duty simply shot him a mildly annoyed look.

* * *

After several minutes of driving, Optimus reached the quarry, where the five jumped out and ran towards a huge chasm at the peak.

Taking to his robot mode, Optimus looked around. "Whatever it is you are here to do, make it short. We do not know how long Ironhide and the others can keep those men occupied. Or how long until the Decepticons show up."

"Five minutes. Give us just five minutes," Jason insisted as Kimberly and the others leapt into the chasm.

Readying his Ion Blaster, Optimus nodded. "Very well. I will give you five millicycles."

Jason nodded in acceptance before turning and leaping into the chasm, leading down to a large body of water at the bottom.

The water ended with an opposite layer of water leading to a cave, within which was a large wall of metal.

Alpha-Five exited a door within the wall as the five rushed up to him. "Aye, aye, aye, what is the rush?"

"We've got a big problem. Like, really big," Billy explained breathlessly.

"The morphers," Jason added. "We need them."

Alpha-Five blinked before stepping aside. "Well don't let me stop you."

* * *

Outside of the chasm, Optimus turned as he saw helicopters and several VTOL aircraft approaching. "I see the time for their distraction has ended.

Bumblebee, Gears, and Ironhide emerged from the forest and entered their individual robot modes.

"We tried to lose them, Optimus," Ironhide explained.

Optimus shook his head in reply. "You need not apologize, Ironhide. You did what you could."

"Where the kids?" Bumblebee asked.

Optimus pointed to the cavern before turning his attention to the approaching vehicles. "Defend yourselves Autobots, but do not terminate them."

Ironhide frowned in disappointment as his Magma Frag Launchers formed on his arms. "You never let me have any fun."

"Save it for the Decepticons."

Immediately, Jason and the others emerged from the chasm holding glowing discs with golden rims.

"Do you have what you need?"

"Yeah, we do," Jason answered as he and the others stuffed the coins in their pockets. "Let's get out of here now."

* * *

Alpha-Five turned his attention to Zordon, a massive face on a wall of moving metal. "Do you think they'll be okay, Zordon?"

Zordon sighed in confusion. "I do not know, Alpha-Five. I had assumed Quintessa had abandoned that project after what happened with the first two. But it seems I was mistaken."

* * *

"How come you can't use that glowy portal thing again!?" Zack asked frantic as he and the others held on tight inside Optimus as he fled from the Sector Seven vehicles.

"Those humans," Optimus explained. "There is too much danger of them tracking the location of our base that way. We must lose them first."

"Seems like that's not going too well," Jason added dryly. Looking at the coin in his hand, he asked, "What if we held them off?"

"You are whom they are after, Jason. I cannot allow them to capture you."

"You have the disc, leading to whatever it is you need. These jerks started this."

Optimus remained silent for a moment. "We appreciate your kindness."

Jason and the others leapt from the vehicle as he opened his doors, the group speeding off behind them save for Bumblebee. "What? You now going?"

Bumblebee transformed and shrugged. "What's that saying you humans use? You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." Arming his Plasma Cannons, Bumblebee looked at the approaching soldiers. "Besides, I've been dealing with these jerks for several dekacycles. It'd be nice to knock them down a little."

As the VTOLs approached, Heavy Duty along with another heavily muscular man dropped down.

"Think you can do this, Roadblock?" Heavy Duty taunted, hoisting a minigun.

Roadblock smirked as he armed an assault rifle. "Nope. I know I can."

Billy gaped in disbelief. "Are they trying to capture us or kill us?"

Jason held the red coin tightly. "Well either way, they're not playing around. Okay, let's go, it's Morphin' time!"

Swiftly, the coins all glowed brightly before the five were surrounded by flowing metal particles that formed brightly colored armor around them.

Jason, clad in dark red armor, readied a sword with a hole at the end. "You want us? Come and get us!"

Roadblock raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I thought the Accelerator Suits were our thing."

Heavy Duty just rolled his eyes before spinning up his minigun.

Jason and the others charged at immense speed towards the duo.

"Whoa!" Roadblock exclaimed as he ducked a swing from Billy, who was covered in blue armor. "Not bad for a kid!" he taunted before throwing a powerful punch at the teen.

Billy stumbled to the side from the impact, though Roadblock himself cursed as he shook his hand.

"The hell's that crap made from?!"

"Dunno. But iss cool," Billy remarked before kicking at Roadblock, sending him flying.

Jason fired bursts of energy at Heavy Duty as Kimberly charged at him, the sturdy man easily dodging the shots as he continued laying down fire on them.

Two more people then dropped from the hovering VTOL, a woman with red hair and another woman with black hair tied behind her.

The redhead looked at Trini and Kimberly then to her partner. "I'll take pink, Lady Jaye?"

Jaye nodded as she focused her attention on Trini. "Works for me, Scarlett."

The two immediately lashed out, with Jaye firing several volleys from her rifle, Trini using her arm blade to block the shots before charging.

Scarlett raised and fired her crossbow at Kimberly, the pink-clad girl easily dodging the shots before leaping at the redhead.

* * *

Zack attempted to fire a shot at Heavy Duty, but was stopped when a man with a scruffy beard leapt from the nearby SUV and tackled him.

"Okay, I thought I was supposed to be the crazy one!" Zack growled as he turned to the man.

Roadblock blocked several punches from Billy before turning to the other man. "You okay Flint!?"

"I can take one teenager," Flint answered, pulling a large knife from his pocket.

Zack huffed dismissively as one of the gun swords formed on his arm. "Even without this armor I'm more than just a teenager." Zack charged at the man, narrowly missing a swing as Flint stabbed at him, his knife simply bouncing off the teen's armor. Zack turned swiftly and backhanded Flint, the man rolling into the fall and kipping himself up before sweeping out Zack's legs.

Bumblebee prepared to fire his Plasma Cannon at one of the VTOLs but was struck from behind by a powerful rocket.

Jason and the others stopped fighting as they turned to see Starscream fly overhead.

Bumblebee growled as he wiped a blue fluid from his arm. "We've got trouble now…"

Starscream flipped in the air, firing his Thermo Rocket Launcher at one of the VTOLs, causing it to crash into another before both exploded.

"Something tells me that's bad news," Flint remarked.

"Really? What was your first clue?" Jason deadpanned.

Starscream growled as he looked around. "Where is the Cube?!"

"Even if I knew, there's no way I'd tell you!" Bumblebee shot back before firing at Starscream.

The massive robot smacked the blast out of the air and readied a Scrapmaker which he fired a volley from at Bumblebee and the humans.

Heavy Duty snarled and turned his attention away from the Rangers and fired his minigun at the Decepticon, the rounds harmlessly bouncing off his carapace.

"Your pathetic weapons can't harm me, fleshling!" Starscream howled before stomping on the ground, the tremor knocking everyone to the ground. However, before he could send any more attacks their way, Bumblebee leapt up and latched onto his head. "Gah! Let go you pest!" Starscream shrieked as he stumbled back, trying to shake the smaller robot off of him.

Jason looked to the others and nodded, the five immediately sprinting away.

"Hey! They're getting away!" Flint shouted.

Scarlett loaded a unique bolt into her crossbow and aimed at the Rangers. "Not for long they're not." Suddenly, five shots launched from the weapon and charged at the armored teens.

As the bolts hit the Rangers, it sent powerful electric shocks through their bodies, deactivating their armors and sending them collapsing to the ground.

Bumblebee punched Starscream's head repeatedly before the robot leapt into the air, knocking his would-be assailant to the ground before transforming and flying away.

Roadblock sighed as Bumblebee fell to the ground, the Rangers collapsed already. "Bag 'em and tag 'em."

* * *

On a hill nearby, Optimus, Gears, Ironhide, and two other robots stood on the cliff, watching these events unfold.

"Let's go, Optimus!" Ironhide insisted.

Optimus shook his head as he watched the teens get dragged into one of the VTOLs, Bumblebee wrapped in a net. "We cannot. Finding the Allspark is of greater importance."

A green robot the same height as Ironhide frowned in disappointment. "We plan on just letting them terminate Bumblebee?"

"His sacrifice will be in vain if we do not find the Cube, Ratchet."

Ratchet sighed in frustration.

A small, silver machine sat on a wrecked van. "C'mon Prime, lemme go after 'em! I can get Bumblebee and the kids back!"

"I know you can, Jazz. But I need your assistance as my second-in-command. In addition, should I not be able to safely destroy the Cube, I will merge it with my Spark."

A red robot who looked similar to Bumblebee gaped in shock. "But that would be suicide, Optimus! It'd destroy you both!"

"Cliffjumper's right," Ironhide urged.

Optimus nodded in response. "I am aware, Ironhide. However, this is our only recourse. We cannot let the Decepticons have it."

* * *

Starscream growled as he landed amongst the other Decepticons.

"Not so easy, is it?" Blackout taunted.

Starscream hissed and pushed him down. "You will speak when spoken to, underling."

"I am a servant to Lord Megatron! I am not servant of yours, scrapheap!"

Barricade just sighed as the two continued to bicker.

"This many dekacycles and they still haven't changed a thing," Thundercracker, who was virtually identical to Starscream save for being mostly blue, grumbled.

* * *

Jason groaned as he returned to consciousness before suddenly tensing as he remembered his last moments before everything went black, and then looked around and realized that he, along with the other Rangers, were all strapped into chairs with extremely strong rope.

"Good to see you're awake," a man with greying hair in a formal military uniform commented as he walked into the room accompanied by a blonde-haired woman.

Jason sneered at the man as he sat in front of him. "Who the hell are you?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but you can call me General Hawk. Now, I have a few questions for you."

"What makes you think I'm going to answer you?"

Hawk narrowed his eyes and leaned close to Jason. "I don't care who you think you are or what you think you can do. You are still human. Earth is still your home. And if you don't want to see it die then you will answer my questions."

Jason glared as he looked between the two. "Just who are you people?"

"We are Earth, or more precisely, the United States of America's, last line of defense. When all else fails, we don't. That's all you need to know. Now it's my turn. Where did you get that technology you're using?"

"I can't say."

"Who gave it to you?"

"I can't say."

"What do you plan to do with it?"

"I can't say."

Hawk slammed his fist on the table, getting a small jump out of Jason as he stood up and leaned over the teen. "Son, this is not the time for games. Our world is in danger from a threat far beyond your imagination, and unless you cooperate with us, everything you know and love will be gone."

Jason simply stared the man down. "I'm not sure if you know this, but this isn't the first time everything I know and love was threatened by an alien. And last time it happened, my friends and I drove her away. If it weren't for us, all life on this planet would be gone. You and your goon squad included. So maybe you could show a little appreciation."

Hawk sighed as he sat back down. "Look, kid, I'm not the bad guy here."

"Oh really? You could've fooled me when your men in black showed up at my house, threatened my dad, my whole family, took me prisoner, attacked me and my friends, and now have us tied to chairs. From where I'm sitting, yeah, you _are_ the bad guys asshole!"

Hawk leaned back in his chair as he looked over the papers in his hands. "Okay, let's say I agree with you, that you and your friends are worthy of some admiration. But still, you're using technology you don't understand, and you're using it _far_ outside the remit of the US government. You know what they call that?"

"Superheroes?"

"Vigilantes. There is a reason that things are done the way they're done. It's keep as many people as possible safe without them actually knowing what the hell's out there. And do you know why?"

"Because you government types always want to control everything."

"No. It's because when the masses are faced with something they can't understand and can't handle, they lose their senses. The less they know about what kind of insanity is out there in the world, the better. I saw the footage. You and your friends, those machines of yours, yes, they drove back that monster. But at the cost of almost half your city and numerous deaths."

"Well if it hadn't been for us there wouldn't _be_ anything left! Why can't you understand that!?"

"Because there is an order to things. Red tape exists for a reason. It's the barrier between the common man and the things that go bump in the night."

"Can you… stop shouting…?" Zack groaned as he woke up. "My head is killing me…" As soon as he regained lucidity he began trying to break free of his restraints. "Whoa! What the hell?! Where are we?!"

Jason shook his head. "Give it up Zack, I've already tried. I don't know what these ropes are made of but we can't break them."

"Great… who's this guy?"

"Commander of the jackasses who took us hostage."

Hawk sighed as the others woke up and realized their situation. "Right… I can see we got off on the wrong foot."

"Wrong foot?" Trini growled. "You showed up out of nowhere, attacked us, and kidnapped us. Seems like you really knew what you had in mind."

"You need to understand, when it comes to alien technology and those involved with it, you can't be too careful."

"So you try and kill us?" Kimberly shot back.

"Our goal is the protection of the USA and Earth. And unfortunately that means sometimes we have to take drastic measures. Now, if you agree not to lash out, we'll untie you. Of course, if you do, we'll simply tie you up again. It was by my own kindness that I had all five of you put in the same room together. Don't make me regret that."

The five looked between each other before nodding, Jason turning to Hawk. "Okay, you want our help? Then we want something in return."

Hawk nodded with a forced smile. "I can't offer you any guarantees, but I would appreciate a swift end to this."

* * *

A heavily muscular man with short blonde hair walked through the halls of the massive structure alongside a dark-skinned man with scant facial hair.

"You know Duke, I'm startin' to think we picked the wrong side here," the second man remarked.

Duke, as he grabbed a bottle of water from a machine, turned to his friend. "And why's that, Ripcord?"

"'Cause I just saw HD and Scarlett coming back from a mission with a whole bunch o' unconscious kids. And, I mean, I don't know 'bout you, but attacking kids doesn't really seem like something the good guys do."

Duke frowned in thought. "There must be a reason for it."

"… Really dude?"

"I said there must be a reason. I didn't say we weren't going to find out what it is."

Ripcord smirked as he and Duke rushed down the hall.

* * *

Jason rubbed his wrists as Cover Girl removed the binds from him and his friends.

"Good… you're not attacking, so that's a good sign," Hawk noted as Cover Girl sat back down next to him. "Now, how about you tell us where you got those suits, those machines, and what you plan to do with them?"

Jason sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Would you believe me if I told you we're the Power Rangers?"

"And that is…?"

"Defenders of Earth. All life on this planet comes from something called the Zeo Crystal. A psycho bitch named Rita Repulsa wanted it, so we kicked her ass and sent her flying into space."

"I see. And who made you these… Power Rangers?"

"Zordon. Now, if you want anything else, I want something else too."

"Name it."

"Once we're done here, my friends and I go back home and never see you again."

"Done. Continue."

"He was the leader of his old team, he was the previous Red Ranger, he and Rita got stuck here sixty-five million years ago."

"Interesting. Now, let me ask you another question. How can I be sure you're not just spouting total poppycock?"

Jason smirked and folded his arms. "Guess you can't."

Hawk returned his smirk. "You've got guts. Okay, I'll bite. So they crashed here when the dinosaurs died, and have been here all this time. How come nobody else became the Power Rangers before that?"

"Nobody else found the Power Coins. They're what gives us our powers and our armor."

Hawk raised an eyebrow and picked up a briefcase from beside him and opened it, showing the five glowing coins inside. "I assume you mean these?"

Jason narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Yeah. I hope you don't plan to keep them."

"Once we've studied them to our satisfaction, they will be returned to you."

"Hey! That's not part of the deal!"

"Well unfortunately it is now. This is alien technology we've never seen before. So until we're certain we know what it does, we can't just let a bunch of teenagers have it."

Jason slammed his fist down with rage, buckling the steel table.

"I highly suggest you reel it in, Jason Scott. Otherwise the deal is off and we will do what we have to in order to get what we need."

Jason took several angry breaths before leaning back as Hawk closed the case.

"Good. Now, what do you intend to do with these powers now?"

"Protect Earth," Billy answered. "It's what we do."

"As admirable as that is, we can't just let you decide what counts as protecting Earth and what doesn't. There needs to be accountability and oversight. Something like this can't be allowed to run around unchecked. I'm certain you understand that."

"Yeah, because the government's doing so well already," Zack shot back.

"While we _do_ answer to the President of the United States, among others, we have full operational oversight on all of our missions."

"Oh, so a whole bunch of guys in suits can determine what's best for the world but people with actual power can't."

"Exactly. People with power tend to be blinded by that power. So they need someone with a view of the big picture to reel them in. Otherwise, they tend to go overboard and become more of a problem than the threat they supposedly stand against."

"That is _not_ who we are!" Jason argued. "We were given this power to _protect_ Earth and its people!"

"By whose jurisdiction? Under whose authority? This 'Zordon'? You said it yourself, he's not a human, he's not an Earthling. How do you know he isn't just using you for his own gain? How do you know he's with _them_?"

"Because sixty-five million years ago, he and his team died stopping Rita from taking the Crystal. He may have his own thoughts on humans, but life on Earth, which _includes_ humans, is what he protects. So he's on our side. Or at the very least, on Earth's."

Hawk remained pensively silent for a moment. "So how can we be sure _you_ are?"

"You're seriously going to ask me that?"

"Yes. How can we be sure you have the best interests of Earth, of the US, of the people _I_ watch over, at heart? How do I know you won't take that power, and use it as a gun pointed at the entire world for your own benefit?"

"Nobody is supposed to know who or what we are. We stop people who threaten life on Earth, and then we go back to our lives. When the next threat comes up, we smack it down. That's how this works."

Trini huffed and interrupted, "Give it up Jason. This douchebag won't be happy until we agree to be his attack dogs, to follow his every order and use our powers only as _he_ sees fit. That's what this is about, isn't it? You want us to answer to you."

"Not to me, to the American people. Not to some… alien stuck in a cave. And if the only way to ensure that is for you to be under my command, so be it."

"See? Told you. He's like all those government types. If they can't control something they want to destroy it. And that's what you'll do to us if we don't bow to you, huh?"

Their conversation was interrupted when the room began to shake violently, the lights flickering.

"Uh… was that supposed to happen?" Billy asked in confusion.

Hawk stood and turned to Cover Girl. "Sitrep, now."

"Sir," she answered with a salute before turning to leave the room, stumbling as the facility trembled once more.

Hawk narrowed his eyes and turned to Jason and the others. "You say you protect Earth? That you're on our side?" Sliding the briefcase to them, he insisted, "Then prove it. We're under attack. If what you're concerned with is the protection of the people of this planet, and not your own gain, then you'll stop them."

"Do we really have a choice?" Kimberly shot back as she tossed the Power Coins to her friends.

"That's up to you."

* * *

 **And done! Thus concludes the first chapter of Defenders of Earth! If you enjoyed the chapter be sure to let me know with a review. If you were confused, unsure, or just had questions on anything leave a review letting me know and I will do what I can to address your concerns in a reviewer response; though if your query involves future plot developments, you would have better luck with a PM, as I cannot address spoilers in the reviewer responses. If you did not like the chapter, leave a review if you must, but try to do more than just saying it sucks, or just do something else that you actually enjoy instead. With that out of the way, until next time, bye-bye!**


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